“For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days’ pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.”
—2 Samuel 24:11-14

When faced with God’s judgment, King David trusted to the “great mercies” of the Lord.

God sent a pestilence that killed 70,000 Israelites.

HOWEVER, it could have been much worse.

“So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.”
—2 Samuel 24:15-16

Today, God encourages evil man to repent (change direction) and believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Basically, God will forgive AND forget all previous transgressions IF the sinner will only ask for such forgiveness.

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
—Hebrews 8:12

“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”
—Psalm 103:11-14

HOWEVER, God will not always be so merciful.

There is coming a time when he will temper His perfect mercy with perfect judgment of the wicked. There is coming a time when God will make the wicked unable to ask for mercy because the wicked will be completely deluded.

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
—2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

There will be none slipping into heaven who think of repentance as a form of “fire insurance” when all other avenues appear closed.

All those who think to “wait until later” to repent and gain eternal salvation will find their way blocked; not only by a strong delusion but by a lack of God’s Word.

All those who earlier didn’t care about what constituted right and wrong will no longer be able to distinguish between what God declares is right and wrong.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day…Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”
—Amos 8:9,11-12

“Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.”
—Proverbs 1:28-30

“Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.”
—Jeremiah 11:11

WHO?

Who are all of these people who are calling on the Lord for mercy and who He declares He will not hear?

These ARE NOT worldly people: the world wants no part of God and His mercies. Indeed: the world mostly does not believe in God or His mercy.

These are the people who inhabit the churches: who think they are right with God because they are good enough to give Him an hour or two of their precious time during the week. These are people who have been deceived that they are good Christians because they say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.”

These are people who are very comfortable with this present world. They enjoy and value the things of this world.

“know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
—James 4:4

These are church people who constantly make excuses for being comfortable in this world. These are enemies of God who have deceived themselves into believing they are His friends.

They refuse to obey His commandments. They value their comfort and their church buildings more than they value Jesus Christ or God’s Word. They refuse to harken to His voice in the good times.

And so, God will refuse to hear their cries when times turn bad.

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
—Isaiah 59:1-2

LORD, LORD: Who is Crying Lord, Lord?

But all should be encouraged:God still extends His tender mercies to all who truly desire them.

God is still looking for a people that fear Him and want Him as their God.

Though you have had a lifetime of sin and iniquity, you may still obtain a full pardon by a sincere desire to repent and follow Jesus.

NOW, God’s mercies are still new every morning.

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
—Lamentations 3:22-23

There is still yet time.

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

THE GOSPEL

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

RELATED ARTICLES

• STRONG DELUSION: Doubters who Wait and See will be Lost
• Do You Know if You are Going to Heaven? Be Sure!
• GOD’S PLAN: God is Looking for a People
• Christian Persecution: Jesus is not Beating His Bride, He’s Choosing It
• FEAR: Fear God, Not Man
• The Church vs the churches: Differences
• Satan Has Counterfeited the Christian Church
• Terror, Chaos, Panic, Fear: What’s Ahead for Unbelievers in the End Times
• Apocalypse: End Times Only Bad for God’s Enemies

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

image: Evgeni Dinev, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-15. © Mondo Frazier and End Times Prophecy Report, DBKP 2007-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/websites.